Lakers back home to face off against Mavericks, rookie phenom Doncic

After coming up 0-2 on their short road trip, the Los Angeles Lakers return to the friendly confines of the Staples Center to host the Dallas Mavericks. But that doesn’t mean it will be an easy one as the Mavericks enter the game with an identical 2-5 record and one of the most hyped prospects in a long time.

Wednesday is the first ever matchup between Luka Doncic and LeBron James, which is undoubtedly the headline matchup of this game. Sure, the Lakers have problems on defense that probably won’t get better tonight, but fans of the game will be looking to see how the most hyped European prospect ever handles himself against The King.

Doncic also enters the game in rare company with James. The 19-year old Doncic is averaging 20 points, six rebounds and four assists per game, something that nobody under 21 can claim in NBA history, except for LeBron. And LeBron was 20 when he recorded those numbers. So, Wednesday is truly a matchup of phenoms from different eras.

But it isn’t just Doncic that will present problems for what’s been a bad Lakers defense. They added former Clippers big man DeAndre Jordan in the offseason, who has looked solid as ever and is even flashing some developments in his game. Over the weekend he recorded a game with nine assists and he’s currently shooting nearly 82% from the free-throw line after being a 44% free-throw shooter over the course of his career.

Doncic is coming off his highest scoring game yet, with 31 points in San Antonio and the Lakers are coming off what is likely their most disappointing loss of the season against Minnesota.

If the Lakers are to get back into the win column tonight, they’ve got to find a way to slow Doncic down. They’ve been unable to convert their 3-pointers at a good rate so far this season, so it would be foolish to expect that to change suddenly.

While the Mavericks are only 2-5, the Lakers have shown in early season that they can’t overlook anybody.

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